


Eighteen

by CrazyyyFangirl



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But Thomas doesn't know, But resolved quickly, Just for plot purposes, Light Angst, M/M, Minho Ships It, Requited Unrequited Love, Soulmates not really important, Teresa Agnes and Thomas are cousins, Thomas has a crush, so does Newt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-10-28 22:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20785946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyyyFangirl/pseuds/CrazyyyFangirl
Summary: Eighteen, the age when you get your soulmate's name marked onto you, above your heart.Thomas and Newt have been best friends since when they were eight years old.The brunet had long since developed feelings for the blond. But his eighteenth birthday is drawing close, and he's terrified.





	1. Tears

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this bad, but oh well.
> 
> PS Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Danke Schön!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas's POV

Thomas was scared, terrified even.

It was his eighteenth birthday the next day, which meant that tomorrow the name of his soulmate would appear on his chest. Above the place where his heart was.

Around two hundred and fifty years ago, on the first day of the new year, humans started getting soulmarks. It was as if some otherworldly being had had enough of the drama and heartbreak that always accompanied the human race, and had decided to put an end to it.

From that day onwards, when a person welcomes their eighteenth birthday, they would receive a soulmark.

At some point during the twenty four hours, they would feel a burning pain in their heart. If you looked at your chest during the marking, you would see a a name slowly pushing through, as if it came from inside you.

It had baffled scientists for years, where did the soulmark come from? But none had found any indication. It was like it just appeared, by magic.

The process lasted anywhere between ten seconds and an hour if you were unlucky. The finished soulmark looked like a brand and was the first and surname of your soulmate.

Your soulmate is the person that the universe thinks is most compatible with you, either romantic or platonic. You may have been best friends with them since birth, but you may have never even met them before. 

But soulmates aren't as straightforward as many stories said they are. You don't just get your soulmark and then immediately fall in love and get married. While that happens in one or two cases, many soulmates just don't work out.

Arguments and fights are commonplace. While most pairings do end up successful over the many years, some just don't.

There are also cases of people never receiving a soulmate, or getting two or more at the same time. Sometimes the person whos name you had burned onto your chest had someone else's name on theirs. They could be too young, too old or even dead before you were born. 

Some people just never met their soulmates due to where they lived, or met once and never contacted each other again. 

Rare, but it happened.

Thomas's parents were a perfect example of soulmates. At eighteen, they had received each others names burned onto their chests. When they were introduced to each other by a mutual friend from school, they had gotten on immediately. Three years later, they were married and after a further two years, Thomas had been born.

However, this meant that Mary and Vince Greene expected Thomas to do the same. For him to find his soulmate, fall in love and get married.

Thomas could never make his parents understand that no, he did not want to be bound to a stranger that he had never met before; and be forced to spend the rest of his life with them. And that he instead wanted to control his own life, make his own decisions.

His main problem was Newt. They first met when Newt had just moved to the US from England, when they were both only eight.

They had become best friends and stayed best friends. 

Twelve years. From elementary school all the way through to high school.

Twelve years, also long enough for Thomas to fall headfirst into love. The feelings had been there for a long time, potentially from the first time he met him. But they only revealed themselves to him after he turned seventeen. 

Dancing. Two years ago. After they had gotten into a club using badly made fake IDs, he thinks, lying on his bed. That was when he realized that he was in love with his best friend.

But then Thomas remembers, that after tomorrow, after marking day, he won't even be able to hope. That by some miniscule chance in the universe, fate isn't against him.

Maybe his dreams will be kind. His last thought fades.

He drifts off to sleep, pillow wet from his tears.

***

The next morning arrives too early.

When he wakes up, for a moment he doesn't remember.

But then he does. It's his marking day today.

He goes through the rest of the day on autopilot, doing what he has to. His mother is excited, naturally. So is his father. His parents take him out for the day, to the nearby lake, and then his favourite restaurant, to celebrate. If it had been any other day, he would have been happy. 

But it wasn't.

After he gets home, Thomas goes back to his room. Looking on his phone, he can see a sea of messages:

"Happy eighteenth bday shank, hope u get someone hot!! U hav 2 tell me everything 2morrow"-Min

"Happy marking day Tom, I'm so happy for you! See you tomorrow; me and mom are coming to visit you and aunt Mary in the afternoon. I hope you find out who your soulmate is soon." -Ter

And finally (and most importantly, Thomas thinks),

"Happy bloody eighteenth birthday Tommy! Hope you find the love of your bloody life today, have a buggin' brilliant day!" -Newt

But what Newt doesn't know, and probably would never find out, was that Thomas doesn't want to find someone else. He wants his blond best friend. But, he thinks sadly, that would never happen.

He looks at the screen of his phone, unsure of how to reply to the messages.

Suddenly, Thomas feels an itching, burning pain on his chest. It was happening! It was almost exactly as his parents had described it. Then the pain increases, and Thomas blacks out.

*** 

When Thomas wakes up, he knows he has been marked. And that he can't put it off any longer. Creeping like a snail, unwillingly to the bathroom, he closes his eyes and takes off his shirt.

Taking a deep breath, he opens his eyes.

The words 'Isaac Ross' stare out at him, from their position just above his heart.

Great, his soulmate just had to have the same surname as the boy he had fallen in love with.

Thomas runs back into his bedroom and leaps face first onto his bed.

He really was fortunes fool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I embedded two quotes from Shakespeare in there, can anyone spot them? My English teacher would be proud.
> 
> (Hint: One is from Much Ado About Nothing and the other is from Romeo and Juliet)


	2. Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, please, please comment. 
> 
> Tell me what y'all think.
> 
> Also tell me of any grammar and spelling mistakes and I'll change it.

Newt could tell that something was wrong. And it broke his heart.

Thomas was avoiding him, he was closing himself off from all of their friends, but especially from Newt. He was sure of it. 

It had started after Thomas's bloody eighteenth birthday.

(After Thomas got the name of his soulmate permanently burned onto him, Newt thinks dryly.)

After that day, it was like Thomas didn't want any contact with him, at all. As if his very presence was a dire insult to him. 

The only explanation was that someone had bloody told Thomas of Newt's crush on him and Thomas had been disgusted. Disgusted because Newt obviously wasn't his soulmate, and still wanted him.

And Newt knew, really. He knew that his crush would never come to anything, but already he was in too deep. When he had fallen for his best mate, he was still innocent of the world, unaware that fairy tales would never come true in the real life, unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy. 

And who could blame him? Apart from himself of course. To bloody fall in love with the first friendly face he saw after coming to a strange new place. Before he had moved, he had readied himself for the prospect that he would be stuck with Sonya as his only friend. But then a doe-eyed boy had to bloody come crashing into his life and, more importantly, his heart.

As far as Newt knew, Thomas hadn't told anyone the identity of his soulmate, not Minho, not Teresa, not Brenda and definitely not him. He was curious, of course, as to who Thomas would spend the rest of his life with. Naturally, he also wanted to tear them apart with his bare hands for stealing any chances he had of being with Thomas away from him, but that was understandable. 

Plus, he would never do that to Thomas, who would be devastated if he learnt his soulmate was gone.

Thomas's upbringing and parents made sure of that.

While Thomas often complained to him of how he hated how his parents expected him to, quote: "find his soulmate, fall in love and get married." Newt knew that, subconsciously, Thomas loved the idea of soulmates, of someone perfect for you, of someone you could grow old with. No, what Thomas really hated was the expectation that he would do those things.

Newt, on the other hand, had a completely different upbringing to Thomas. Yes, his parents had been soulmates, but his dad had become abusive, and he, Sonya and their mum had moved to the US. Growing up that type of environment meant he had no unrealistic expectations of soulmates. 

And then there was his crush on his best friend. Although your soulmate is meant to be perfect for you, Newt couldn't, and refused to, imagine being with anyone other than Thomas.

***

Newt wakes up and blinks his eyes in the sunlight, he needed to get new blackout blinds, being woken up when the sun comes up, every morning, really was not good for his sleep schedule. He ruffles his messy hair. Then his sleep addled brain switches on, and reality catches up with him. Any chances of having a good day fade.

Yep, Thomas had definitely been avoiding him for the entire bloody week.

He hadn't talked to him properly once, since his marking day, Newt thought miserably. He was already late for school, but, he thought, what was the point of him even going? Him attending a few more classes wouldn't make any difference to his grades, and seeing his best friend would only make him remember their distance.

Might as well just stay at home. But he couldn't. Or he could hit another dark place, and this time there'd be no Thomas to drag him out. He drags himself out of bed and puts on the first outfit he finds, a rumpled shirt and a pair of battered, faded jeans. Attempting to tame his unruly blond hair, he catches sight of himself in the mirror, he looks awful and he knows it.

Walking through the door to the hallway, Newt grabs his old leather jacket from a hook by the door and shrugs it on. He trudges slowly door the stairs and into the kitchen. There Sonya and his mother are already eating breakfast. 

Sonya, his ever observant twin, notices something is wrong immediately.

"New'," she mumbles, halfway through a mouthful of cereal, "are y'all right?"

"Yes, I bloody am alright!" He shouts back, his voice raised. Raised too high, he realizes. He regrets it almost as soon as the words leave his mouth.

Sonya winces and his mother looks at him with concern in her eyes.

"Just remember that you can always talk to us", she says softly, "we'll always be here for you."

"Yeah, whatever, gotta go." Newt grabs a piece of toast and runs out the door, not caring that it is pouring outside and he doesn't even have a bloody umbrella.

He does afterwards though, after he is soaked within five minutes of leaving the house. He runs to school, arriving eight minutes later, and goes to his locker to get his track clothes.

He's a senior now, and teachers do expect them to set a good example to the younger years, beginning with not dripping water everywhere. 

Then he sees Minho and Teresa talking in the corner, they're both wearing concerned expressions and he has a bad feeling that they're talking about him. Him and Thomas. That makes him want to storm over and punch the two shanks. But he doesn't. 

They see him and their conversation falters. Teresa plasters the biggest bloody fake smile on her face.

"Newt.." She begins, but he interrupts her. 

"Don't mind me, I'm going, carry on talking." He turns and runs. He can feel tears building up in the back of his eyes. Newt wipes them away furiously, not now, he thinks, he can't seem weak. 

From the corner of his eye he sees Sonya entering the school. She sees him as well. She hurries over and Newt just breaks.

He sobs into her shoulder, it almost feels to him as if the world is ending. She pats his back and whispers into his ear, calming him down. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks hopefully, and it hurts him. 

"Sorry, 'm so sorry,"

"S'alright, tell me when you're ready." 

He doesn't say anything, he just nods into her shoulder.

He knows that he should be the one with the courage; he should be the one watching out for his younger sister, (although only by an hour), but it was always him with the problems.

He squeezes Sonya tighter, and silently swears that he will start getting to grips with himself so he can start looking out for her. Starting with getting over Thomas, the boy that he couldn't really have had anyways.

***

Later that day, he bumps into Thomas, with Minho, in the canteen. 

"Newt, I..."

He nods in greeting.

"Thomas."

And he walks away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez Newt is hard to write, but he's also interesting.
> 
> Should I switch POVs or stick with Newt?
> 
> Could anyone tell me how to write in italics? Because I can't figure it out and it would be very very useful for the next chapter. Thank you!


	3. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, comments, comments!
> 
> I love comments! Tell me anything you can think of for the story so far!

"Newt, I..."

He nods,

"_Thomas_"__

_ __ _

_ __ _

It was like a punch in the gut, and suddenly the world seemed like it was flashing. Thomas could see Minho in the corner of his eye, mouth wide open, absolutely shocked; but all he could focus on was the blond haired boy standing in front of him.

Newt.

"Newt, I'm so sorry..." He tries, but the only sound that comes out is a strangled half whisper. Tears prick at the back of his eyes and threaten to spill out.

After a week of avoiding his best friend, he had finally convinced himself that his world was not going to end. He had a soulmate now, yes, but he would be damned if he let go of his friendship with Newt. 

Maybe they couldn't be, and would never be, anything more, but he resolved to hold onto whatever they did have now like a drowning man would grip onto his only chance for salvation. 

So he had approached him, in the canteen, determined to apologize.

But now he realized that he had overlooked what Newt would be feeling. That Newt hadn't deserved to be ignored and avoided. That, if he put himself in Newt's place, he would be feeling hurt and abandoned. They had been best friends since elementary school, for God's sake, used to having each other and supporting each other through thick and thin.

And he had let his stupid crush get in between that, mourning over the fact he had lost any hope of being soulmates with his best friend, when his feelings weren't even reciprocated.

He just needed to figure out what on Earth he was meant to do. Before his mind convinced itself that the world was about to end and, shut in on itself.

It was serious, very serious. The last time Newt had called him Thomas and not Tommy was probably back in 8th grade. After a blazing argument between the two of them. 

***

_Thomas had started to drift away after the summer, and had joined the new track team. Almost immediately he had become fast friends with Minho and Gally, and they had just clicked. Soon they were talking about anything and everything. Football, girls, things that Newt had just never been interested in._

_Naturally, this meant that he was spending much less time with Newt. Then, he did something he would regret for the rest of his life. Thomas had turned down the chance to go to a cafe with Newt, going instead with Minho. Newt had found out after one of their friends had seen Thomas and told him about it. _

_Newt had stormed over to Thomas's house. They had then had a shouting match that ended with Thomas, completely riled up, screaming:_

__

__

"STOP FUCKING TRYING TO CONTROL ME!! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO!! WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND ARE YOU?! I HATE YOU!!"

_He had regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. But it had been too late._

_Newt had looked at him. One look. Before whispering: 'Fine, Thomas. I'll leave.' And fleeing from his house._

_Due to his stupid teenage pride, Thomas had refused to apologize, telling himself over and over again that it was Newt who was at fault. _

__

__

_One week of not saying a word to each other had followed._

_But then, guilt won out and one Sunday morning he went over to Newt's house. _

_He would never forget the sight of his best friend sprawled on the lawn, after jumping. Jumping from the roof. In an attempt to take his own life._

_Newt had been survived. But he had also been left with a permanent reminder of what had happened. A limp._

_Thomas had been left with the guilt of being the spark. Being the ultimate reason why Newt had decided that he couldn't do it anymore. And of not noticing that something had been wrong._

_Although Newt had always insisted that it wasn't Thomas's fault, that he would have ended up in darkness anyways, and that it was thanks to Thomas that he was able to reach out to the light, instead of trying to finish the job, Thomas could never stop feeling guilty._

***

Lost and confused, he tells Sonya what had happened and asks her for help.

She's mad at him. And yells at him to 'fucking go die and leave her poor brother alone'. But then she sees his face, sees him let his carefully managed mask drop for a second, just a second, and to reveal the pure pain that lies underneath.

She agrees to help him.

He tells her everything, from the first time he realized that he liked Newt, to all the recent events. Omitting the name of his soulmate, of course. She tells him to tell her brother what he just told her. Don't lie, she says, that will only make it worse. She also tells him to ask for someone else's opinion.

So he does. While Minho is loud and outgoing, he is also the most sensitive person that Thomas has ever met. Minho punches him, after being told. Thomas can't blame him. 

But after he tells Thomas that he is a 'shucking idiotic slinthead', he tells Thomas to do as Sonya advised. And soon, "because it won't do no good to leave that shank to his own shucking thoughts any longer." But not too soon, "to give that shank a day to calm down and shucking think," and tells him to find him the next morning.

So that's what he does. Following the instructions like they were the only thing that kept him toppling into a pit of madness, (they were, really.)

He goes through the motions of the rest of the day. Calculus, english, economics, the lessons blend into one another. Then home. He does his homework, eats dinner, makes polite conversation with his parents, and then he goes to bed. 

He dreads it, insomnia comes with heartbreak. And tonight is no exception. However, this time his pillow stays dry. He has no more tears left to cry.

***

The next morning, he drags himself out of bed and puts on whatever he finds first. Breakfast, bus to school, he arrives before he knows it. 

Minho walks over and thumps him on his back, it's comforting, the smile he sends his way.

Then Newt comes in through the doors. 

And time stands still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soo sorry!!
> 
> I also have no idea how long the angst is going to last, but don't fear, the boys will have a happy ending. I promise.
> 
> (Hides in a corner)


	4. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt's POV

He came through the doors.

And time stood still.

Thomas was standing less than three metres away from him.

Involuntarily, his heart does a joyous skip, and for a moment he is filled with happiness, just at the sight of the brunet. But then he remembers his promise to himself. To stand strong so Sonya and his mother no longer have to worry about him. So instead, he can look out for them. 

And he turns and walks away. Trying to put as much distance between him and Thomas as possible. But Thomas follows him. 

He starts speed walking. Head down and closed off to the surrounding environment. But when Thomas doesn't get the hint that he DOESN'T WANT TO TALK RIGHT NOW, he breaks out into a run, moving as fast as his injured leg would let him.

The two boys chase each other around the school, like how they had done when they were younger, happier and care free. But everything is different now.

Finally, Newt's leg starts to give out on him, and he panics. Runs into a dead end, the end of a corridor. Desperately, his eyes search for an escape. A hidden door, anything that can let him make his escape, but there was nothing, nothing. 

Thomas closes on him. Coming closer and closer while he steps backwards until he has his back to the wall. And then Thomas is less than half a metre away. And Newt's like a cornered wild beast, afraid, scared of what would surely happen.

"Newt..."

"What do you want, _Thomas_?" He says. 

"Why are you doing this?"

Thomas looks angry, but also hurt, it reminded Newt distinctively of a kicked puppy. For what reason? He wonders, Thomas has no right to act the part of the victim. But then anger overcomes his mind, and he's yelling.

"Why do you bloody care? Huh? Because you don't want anyone to not like you? We both bloody well know what you're like! You're the one that bloody ignored me for seven whole days! For no bloody reason, might I add! And now you're asking _me_ why I'm doing this?"

"No!" Thomas looked genuinely horrified.

"Just admit it, why don't you. You got your soulmate, and you have no time left for our friendship. So you start distancing yourself. You've done it before, remember? But then I stopped bloody drooling after you like the loyal lapdog I've been. And you can't have that. Can you?"

"Newt, I..."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Newt yells as he slams Thomas onto the wall.

"DON'T...LIE...TO...ME!" He growls out. Then he sees at foreign emotion in Thomas's eyes. It's fear. Fear of him, of his outburst.

Then, he realizes what he had just done. And he's horrified, terrified even, of just how bloody out of control he was. And of his actions.

Shame and regret fills him.

"I'm sorry." Shaken, he takes one last look into Thomas's eyes.

"I'm sorry." He steps past the boy he loves and walks away.

He only looks back once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite short as I wanted to write the POVs of both boys.


	5. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and tell me what y’all think!

_"I'm sorry."_

The only thing Thomas can do is stand and watch as the boy he loves trips his way down the corridor. 

Partly due to the shock, he's still processing what Newt had just said, how out of it his normally calm and collected blond friend had seemed. But it's also due to the guilt, what he had just heard resonated with him, and he finally recognized the harm his actions could do, what his running away from those who cared about him could make people feel.

Before, a part of him had secretly hoped, and believed, that Newt would only be angry for a moment, and would calm down soon. But hearing those words, that had been spat at him in almost hatred, woke him up from his self imposed daze.

Had he always been that cold, heartless and selfish? He was terrified of the answer, terrified that it was yes. He had always believed that he was a compassionate and considerate person. But looking back he could see places where he could have done better. Looked out more for his friends, been more supportive, noticed. 

He could have done better, Thomas realizes. And Newt, kind, caring Newt, had always put up with him, whatever idiotic stunt he pulled. It was fair that he wouldn't want to put up with him anymore. But to hell with it, he wasn't going to give up his friendship with Newt for anything. Selfish? He knows. But it wasn't the first time.

He has a fair idea of where Newt would probably be. When they were children, they had, like many other kids that age, built a tree house in the woods, only a thirty minute walk from Newt's house. Reachable in half that at full sprint. 

It was where Newt always went when he was feeling stressed or down. Where he went when his emotions were messing with him. Thomas had stopped going after he started high school but he knew Newt had never stopped visiting. 

There were perks to being best friends with your crush for most of your life. This was one of them. Knowing them better than they know themselves. Their habits, their quirks, but God did it also make it hard not to fall in love with them.

***

When he finally reached the tree house, he could see blond hairs peeking out from in between the leaves. God, Newt looked so small just sitting there, between those huge trees. Curled up into a ball, and Thomas’s heart aches. But he also looked completely at peace, with the sun shining down on his peace. Newt looked like he was glowing. Like an angel, Thomas decides.

Thomas scrambles up the ladder, taking two rungs at a time. And sits himself down beside Newt. He hears a sigh.

“You still remember.”

“I never forgot.”

“But you never came here, so I thought...”

“Newt, we made this tree house _together_, I’d never forget.”

Newt suddenly looked a lot more hopeful.

“Sorry about that, back there, by the way, I wasn’t in my right mind, I don’t think.”

“No, you were right, I’ve been being selfish recently. What you said made me seriously think.”

“I didn’t mean any of that!!”

“It _was_ my fault, don’t try and deny that.”

Thomas took a deep breathe and mentally urged himself on.

“I like you Newt.”

Thomas took in Newt’s expression, he looked completely confused. Not disgusted. Which was good. So far.

“I like you, not as a friend, but as something more. I’ve liked you for a long time. For two years, actually.”

He sneaked a glance at his blond friend.

“When I got my soulmark, last week, on my eighteenth birthday, it felt as if my entire world was collapsing. All I could think about was that it meant I couldn’t be with you. I couldn’t face you, I felt ashamed, almost. That's why I ignored you, for that week. I spent it crying into my pillow."

He could hear his voice breaking up.

"But when I had no more tears left to cry, I realised that it was useless, me just moping around like that. So I told myself, forced myself, to just act normal, like nothing had happened. And part of me foolishly actually believed it. That we could go back to before."

His voice starts going quiet and he lowers his head.

"But yesterday, when you looked me in the eye and calmly just called me Thomas. I got scared. Terrified. Terrified that you didn't want to be friends anymore. Terrified that you would start hating me." He barks out a laugh. "I went to Sonya. She yelled at me, but then she told me to tell you everything, no lies, from the beginning. The truth. That I like you, Newt."

"You're just bloody saying this to make me feel better aren't you. Aren't you? Playing along because Sonya told you to. Told you to to make sure I won't bloody try and kill myself again. Well I won't, and you can go and bloody tell her that. Understand?"

Thomas could hear how Newt's voice was tinged with bitterness and distrust. But also hope, just almost concealed by the disbelief.

"Newt, I'm telling the truth."

"Don't. Tommy, don't. Don't give me false hopes. I won't be able to deal with it..."

Newt trails off, clearly lost in his own mind. And Thomas's heart shatters into thousands of tiny pieces when he sees the hurt in the blond boy's eyes. But he's also hopeful, almost elated. Did this mean Newt, by the tiniest chance, might like him back? Then Newt composes himself again, and speaks.

"Answer me Tommy. Tell me." 

Brown eyes meet Thomas's. Broken , trusting, beautiful.

"Please Tommy, please."

Thomas does the only thing he could have at that moment in time. To make him see. To make him believe. He leans in and kisses Newt.

The blond boy's eyes widen in surprise, and for a moment Thomas is scared that he messed up, that he read the signals completely wrong. But then Newt relaxes into the kiss.

Newt tastes sweet. Like cinnamon, Thomas thinks, cinnamon and strawberries and white chocolate. Summer and fireworks. His lips just felt so _right_. So soft and perfect, like velvet. Sweet and caring. 

Then Newt moans, a soft sound. And the kiss turns into something else. The two boys frantically kiss each other, moaning into each others lips. Desperately, like drowning men who needed oxygen, they try to almost devour each other. Their hands start roaming, grabbing hair, looking for something to grasp onto and find each others. All Thomas can think about is the boy in front of him. 

And they are there, like that, for what seems like forever. Until the need to breathe grows too great for both of them.

Hesitantly, they pull apart. Almost unwilling to separate. But their hands don't let go. Thomas hungrily studies Newt. Taking him in. His eyes are sparkling, his cheeks are flushed and he's breathing heavily.

"I've liked you for a bloody long time as well, Tommy." Newt pants out.

Thomas decides that, somehow, he loves Newt even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom, from now on the angst should drastically reduce. Hopefully. There will be some, of course, but there'll be a chapter of fluff first before we resolve the last problem. (Might take a while, I'm so bad at writing fluff.) I haven't forgotten that this is a soulmate AU, don't worry.
> 
> Sorry it’s so late, I didn’t know exactly how to set the chapter and I’ve been quite busy. 
> 
> Thanks guys!!


	6. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt's POV

Thomas was grinning maniacally, eyes shining from pure joy and relief. Joy and relief that Newt shared. That the boy they loved loved them back. 

For a while Newt just stares at Thomas, almost not believing what had just happened. They had kissed and Thomas had told him that he had liked Newt for two years. A part of him thinks that he's dreaming, that he's going to wake up at any moment now and have to face cold hard reality. 

But then he realizes that his lips are stinging, from Thomas accidentally nipping on them when they were frantically kissing, and he thinks, this is actually happening right now. 

A small part of him says to him that _Thomas has a soulmate_ and asks him _what will you do if Thomas dumps you, or says he doesn't feel anything?_ But he ignores it. 

"So," Thomas starts, "will you go out with me? Be my boyfriend?" 

And Newt's heart just expands with joy, 

"Bloody hell, ya think I'm just gonna let ya walk away from me again, mate? Of course I'll be your boyfriend, ya buggin' idiot!" 

The two boys spend twenty more minutes sitting in the treehouse, kissing, cuddling and talking. (He makes a mental note never to let Minho find out, he'd be teased no end.) 

But the time is over far too quickly. 

"Oh shit." 

"Tommy, what's wrong?" 

"I just remembered, we're meant to be at fucking school right now."

"Oh bloody hell!"

"Newt?" He sees Thomas looking at him concerned,

"I just remembered, I've got my end of semester calculus test today, in thirty minutes, the one where the results get sent to your bloody parents. And actually mean something. Damn it!" He growls, "I was meant to be gettin' my bloody life back together!"

"Wait, aren't we in the same calculus class?" 

"Yes, dumbass," 

Realization dawns. 

"Fuck!" 

***

They make it back just before the test starts, running to their seats and falling into them, panting and completely out of breath. Newt, judging by the way Minho was smirking at them, is also worries about what their friends would say. But he files all these thoughts to the back of his head, along with all his other problems.

The test goes well, he revised everything beforehand and he knows how to answer all the questions. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Thomas looking thoroughly confused and chewing on tip of his pencil, which distracts him, looking at those lips. But he soon curses himself for staring and gets back on track. Question after question, answer after answer.

He walks out of the exam room feeling confident. Thomas, on the other hand, looks like he just watched someone kick a puppy, and he couldn't do anything about.it. He's whispering to him when Minho saunters up.

"Hey Newt. Hey Tom. Aren't you two the sweetest two shanks to walk the Earth? C'mon, tell your bestest buddy what happened."

"Fuck off, shuckface, go bug Teresa." Thomas fires at him.

Unfortunately, Teresa chooses this exact moment to appear. She catches sight of their intertwined hands and gives off the highest pitched squeal Newt has ever heard.

"You guys are finally together. At last! Oh. My. God. They're way too cute for their own good. Min, tell them that they are never allowed to never break up." 

Minho dutifully follows her orders. 

"You two shanks are never allowed to break up, her Majesty has decreed it. And I second it." 

Then his expression switches to one of concern.

"You guys have talked things through, right? Everything's definitely good? The shuck face over there told you everything?" 

Newt nods. "He has."

"Good that. Now, are we gonna throw the bestest shucking party this place has ever seen to celebrate them finally getting their shit together or what?"

***

"Heyyy, handsome," Thomas slurs,

Newt sighs, the party had started three hours ago and despite the fact neither of the boys enjoyed parties, Minho had forced them both to come. Because, after all, they were the guests of honour. 

Just _coming_ would have been fine, bearable. But then Minho had taken it upon himself to try and get them completely drunk. Shot after shot, cup after cup, Thomas was now blackout drunk and Newt not far away. Drunk Newt just got sleepy, but drunk Thomas? He was a complete handful.

Loud, noisy, and energetic, drunk Thomas was born from a nightmare. And tonight Newt had discovered a new side to drunk Thomas, soppy and romantic, brimming with awful pickup lines.

"Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk past you again?"

A groan. Although he had found it cute at first, that his boyfriend was still attracted to him, even when completely drunk, the cheesiness of it all had soon completely exhausted him.

"C'mon Tommy, I'm gettin' your sorry arse upstairs."

"I think there must be something wrong with my eyes. I can’t take them off you. C'mon handsome, go on a date with me?" 

"That's it." He grabs Thomas's hand and pulls him forcefully upstairs. 

Once they reach the roof, he plops them down and leans back.

"By the way, you bloody idiot, I can't be your boyfriend."

"Why....?" Thomas looks completely downcast. He's looking at Newt with those irresistible puppy eyes again.

"Because..." Newt leans over until he is hovering above Thomas, pressing him onto the wall. 

"I'm already in a relationship..." He slowly moves forward until his face is only millimeters above Thomas's. Staring directly into his eyes.

"With you." He whispers the last two words and presses his lips on Thomas's. 

He can still hear the music blaring out from the party happening downstairs but all he can think about now is the fact that he's kissing Thomas again. He sees Thomas's eyes clear, the alcohol wearing off, suddenly and quickly as Thomas completely wakes up. Then the two become completely wrapped up in the kiss.

Where the first kiss was hesitant and unsure, this one was faster, harder, claiming. Telling the world that the other boy belonged to him. Thomas seemed to have gotten the same idea, as they were soon fighting for control. Wrestling with their tongues.

They separate, panting, and Newt can see their hot breathes in the cold night air. He huddles closer to Thomas and they just enjoy each other's company. 

"I love you Tommy," he whispers, and almost regrets it immediately, but the overwhelming sense of adoration compels him onwards.

"I love you too." He hears the reply and hums contentedly, placing another kiss on Thomas's cheek. He tilts his head back and together they watch the stars.

He isn't sure of when he fell asleep, or if Thomas fell asleep before him or not. He just remembers the feeling of drifting off, bursting with happiness, curled up together on the roof. But what he does know is that Thomas shakes him awake just as the sun begins to rise, and together, they watch the new dawn approaching.

The sun hesitantly peeks through the faint wisps of clouds in the horizon. Shy but promising. 

He knows that everything isn't perfect. Far from, in fact, but they can work around it. Figure things out together, and eventually, everything will be ok.

Purples and pinks and oranges flood the once dark sky, and streaks of golden sunlight fill his world. Everything seems to be glowing, sparkling, beautiful. 

He turns to Thomas and presses a soft kiss on the other boy's lips.

"Mornin', love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is my pathetic attempt at fluff guys. Please comment and tell me what you think. 
> 
> I'm so sorry, I decided to change this chapter around a bit and complete the fic as I just don't have the time to carry on and the inspiration just isn't coming. Sorry again.


End file.
